Insole



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM IV. GLANVILLE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

INSOLE.

SPCIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 511,942, dated January 2, 1894.`

Application filed Tune 23, 1892. Serial NIJ-437,744. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM IV. GLAN- vILLE,a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insoles for Boots or Shoes; and I do hereby declare the -following to be a full, clear, and exact description of said invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it most nearly appertains to make,use, and practice the same.

It has been customary for many years for the manufacturers of boots and shoes to make transverse outs or slits across one side of that portion of the insole that comes under the ball of the foot, in order to render the sole of the boot or shoe iexible. This method of preparing the insole was highly beneficial in giving flexibility to the sole of the boot or shoe in one direction, as it destroyed the continuity of the material on that side, so that the stitches, no matter how tightly drawn, would have a chance to yield, and thus provide an elasticity that renders the sole liexible. The liexibility however of the sole thus made was in one direction only. O

The purpose and object of my improvement are to increase the elasticity of the sole,by rendering it iexible in both directions; and this I do by making transverse cuts or slits across both the upper and lower sides of that portion of the insole that comes underneath the ball or forward portion of the foot, the slits or cuts to alternate on opposite sides of the insole, thereby preserving a suicient strength of leather to preserve its durability.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view of one side of an insole with transverse cuts or slits, and Fig. 2 is an edge view or longitudinal section of an insole, showing the alternate cuts or slits.

A represents an insole such as used` in the manufacture of boots and shoes.

By my invention I make a series of cuts or slits across both the upper and lower sides of the insole, extending from just in front of the instep to near the toe or front end of the insole, as represented at Fig. 2. These cuts or slits are made to extend in depth partially -through the thickness of the insole, so as to destroy the continuity of the material on both sides of the insole. To preserve a sufficient strength of leather I alternate the cuts or slits on opposite sides of the insole. When thus slitted and prepared the insole is sewed into the shoe sole and the stitches, taking and passing through this slitted portion of the insole, will derive an elasticity from the broken character of the surfaces that will allow them to yield freely, thus giving liexibility to the shoe sole, and avoiding the unpleasantsqueaking which results from tightly sewed soles.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

An insole for boots and shoes having slits or incisions in both its upper and lower surfaces, alternating with each other, and extending only partially through the thickness of the insole and entirely across it, in front of the instep, substantially as specified.

WILLIAM W. GLANVILLE.

Witnesses:

LEE D. CRAIG, CHAs. J. AEMBRUSTER. 

